Sudan: “Environmental Genocide” When bullets assassinate the memory of the land and the future of food
Sudan’s Environmental Crisis: The Consequences of War on Biodiversity
In the midst of the human and political tragedies left behind by armed conflicts, other crises—often no less dangerous—frequently fade from view, perhaps most notably the devastating repercussions on environment and nature. Dr. Maha Ali Abdellatif and Dr. Abdelkader Mohammed Abdullah shed light on this silent tragedy through an important research chapter published in 2025 titled “Sudan’s Environmental Crisis: Consequences of War on Biodiversity.” This meticulous academic work is part of broader efforts aimed at “Rebuilding Sudan After the War,” focusing specifically on the agriculture, environment, and natural resources sectors. The primary goal of this research is to clarify how to preserve biodiversity in Sudan, stemming from a deep and steadfast realization that this diversity is the cornerstone for maintaining ecosystem resilience and improving human livelihoods and well-being. Furthermore, this conservation is an indispensable step toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by integrating conservation efforts and engaging stakeholders from various scientific and social disciplines.
Understanding Biodiversity and Its Vital Importance
To comprehend the implications and the scale of the catastrophe, one must first understand what biodiversity is and its critical importance. The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity defines this concept as the variability among living organisms from all ecosystems, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic systems, as well as the ecological complexes of which they are part. This comprehensive concept is not limited to a single species but includes diversity within species, between species, and across entire ecosystems, ultimately representing the complex genetic makeup of plants, animals, and microorganisms. In a related context, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) explained in a 2016 report that biological resources expand to include forests, rangelands, aromatic and medicinal plants, and microorganisms, as well as diverse animal resources and wildlife.
Benefits to Human Life and Development
The benefits of this biodiversity touch the core of human life and economic development. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in 2025 that biodiversity provides direct and vital benefits in achieving food security, providing timber and fuel wood, not to mention the traditional and complementary medicinal products that many peoples rely on. It also represents a vital tool for providing job opportunities and generating income, especially for poor and marginalized rural communities. From here, biodiversity encourages economic development and contributes directly to poverty reduction, aligning with the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 1), as well as contributing to zero hunger (SDG 2) and improving public health (SDG 3). Alongside these direct benefits, there are equally important indirect benefits, such as maintaining ecosystem functions, regulating air, soil, and water sources, providing spaces for training and education, and creating promising opportunities to revitalize eco-tourism.
Unprecedented Existential Threats
However, this unique natural wealth in Sudan faces unprecedented existential threats. Sudanese biodiversity is under the weight of harsh human interventions, the unsustainable use of biological resources, and the continuous fragmentation of natural habitats. War and armed conflict have led to a terrifying increase in the rate of environmental degradation—a degradation that is exacerbated and intensified by climate change factors, as Sudan is ranked as one of the countries most affected by these global climatic shifts. Climate change is defined as a long-term shift in temperatures and weather conditions, which may be due to natural factors like changes in solar activity or large volcanic eruptions, or as a direct result of negative human intervention such as burning fossil fuels to provide energy.
The repercussions of climate change on ecosystems are catastrophic by all measures. The WHO has clarified that climate change has significant negative impacts leading to habitat destruction. In the same vein, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) explains that climate change increases water acidity and raises sea levels, creating an environment unsuitable for living organisms and ultimately leading to the loss of biological species. Additionally, the disruption of the complex ecological balance is clearly manifested in rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns, leading to successive cycles of drought and devastating floods. These extreme climatic fluctuations subject plants, which usually adapt to specific moisture regimes, to water stress that disrupts their vegetative growth and proper reproduction. The impact is not limited to plants but extends to animals, as climate change increases their susceptibility to diseases, heat stress, and metabolic disorders, leading to a decrease in animal species diversity. Parallel to these climatic threats, human interventions emerge as another destructive factor; some refer to these destructive environmental interventions as the “ecocide process,” which includes the introduction of alien species, habitat fragmentation, and the over-exploitation of resources.
The Impact of the Recent War
The recent war has added a new bloody and catastrophic chapter to the record of environmental degradation in Sudan. Historically, Sudan has suffered from civil wars and armed conflicts lasting more than 60 years, leading to a serious degradation of biological resources that reached the point of extinction for certain types of plants and animals. On April 15, 2023, fierce armed conflicts broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, affecting vital and numerous states such as Khartoum, Al-Jazirah, Central and West Darfur, and North, South, and West Kordofan. This devastating war resulted in the death of more than 12,000 people, the internal displacement of over 5 million people, and the migration of another 1.4 million in search of safety.
The catastrophic effects of this war were not limited to humans but extended to all living components of the environment. War causes widespread environmental pollution and the degradation of natural habitats, inevitably leading to a loss of biodiversity. The displacement of populations fleeing violence leads to intensified pressure and depletion of biological resources, as displaced persons are forced into the excessive cutting of trees for fuel or to build temporary shelters. This intensive depletion of forests for charcoal and fuel wood production carries serious and long-term environmental consequences, including land degradation, the expansion of desertification, and the loss of agricultural soil fertility. Furthermore, airstrikes and drone attacks during the war have caused devastating fires that consume vast areas of vegetation.
Wildlife and the Threat to Gene Banks
Wildlife and livestock in Sudan have also not escaped the hell of this raging conflict. The war has directly and harshly affected animal care, increasing suffering and mortality due to indiscriminate killing, poaching practices, and the absence of necessary veterinary services, as well as an acute shortage of fodder within conflict zones. Natural museums and gene banks—which are considered the guardian vaults of cultural and natural heritage—have also suffered severe damage. Perhaps one of the most prominent and dangerous threats is the risk to the Sudanese Gene Bank, which contains essential and important varieties of sorghum and pearl millet, in addition to 16,739 seed samples of 69 different crops in long-term storage, 359 samples of bananas, and 179 samples of date palms; all preserved to ensure food security and reduce hunger.
Glimmers of Hope and Reconstruction
Despite this grim and painful picture, there is a glimmer of hope and diligent efforts are being made to save what can be saved and to rebuild. Sudan shows a political commitment to making biodiversity components and ecosystems high developmental priorities. This was manifested in its ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1995, whose principles focus on conservation, sustainable use, and the fair sharing of resources. A national strategy and biodiversity action plans have also been developed as a primary planning tool for conservation and fulfillment of imposed international obligations. One bright example in this context is the sustainability-based initiative launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in close cooperation with the European Union in Sudan. This initiative strongly aims to enhance the food security of communities living in and around the Dinder National Park. Established in 1935, this park is one of the oldest protected areas on the African continent and plays an indispensable environmental role in regulating the water flow of two of the Nile’s most important tributaries: the Dinder and Rahad rivers. Providing this water directly supports subsistence agriculture and helps stabilize displaced persons, effectively reducing their negative environmental impact and decreasing pressure on nature.
Dinder National Park: The Green Lung and Lifeblood Regulator
Away from the direct battlefronts in the capital, Dinder National Park stands out as one of the most important ecological anchors on the African continent. The report mentions that this park is not just a haven for wildlife but a “biological regulator” for the water flows of the Dinder and Rahad rivers. This hydrological role of the park is what ensures the continuation of subsistence agriculture for the local population. This led UNEP, in cooperation with the EU, to launch a sustainability-based initiative to enhance food security in the areas surrounding the park.
The goal of this international project, as the report explains, is to improve resilience to climate change and contribute to achieving lasting peace and social stability. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of these efforts is the attempt to settle persons displaced from conflict zones and provide them with sustainable livelihoods, thereby reducing their negative environmental impact—such as deforestation or poaching of wild animals. The success of this experience in Dinder may provide a global model for how to transform natural reserves into centers for stability and post-war recovery.
The Term “Ecocide”: When War Becomes a Crime Against Nature
The report moves to a deeper level of philosophical and legal analysis of the crisis, where the researchers adopt the term “ecocide process” to describe the destructive human interventions in the Sudanese environment. This process is not limited to the direct killing of organisms but includes the introduction of invasive alien species, the fragmentation of natural habitats, and the unjust and unsustainable use of biological resources.
The war has added terrifying dimensions to this ecocide; the use of drones and airstrikes caused widespread fires that destroyed vast areas of vegetation. Additionally, the forced displacement of millions of people led to enormous pressure on forest resources, as displaced persons were forced to cut trees extensively for charcoal production, fuel wood, and building temporary shelters. These activities, as confirmed by Yassin and colleagues in a 2023 study cited by the report, lead to catastrophic results including land degradation, encroaching desertification, and loss of soil fertility, entering the country into a vicious cycle of poverty and environmental collapse.
The Legacy of Scientific Research: From the Colonial Era to the 2030 Agenda
The report does not overlook the historical aspect of environmental protection efforts in Sudan, noting that biodiversity research began even before independence. In those early stages, the focus was on agricultural and forest plants, domesticated animals, and insects of medical and veterinary importance. Over the decades, this research evolved to include the documentation of living organisms and the identification of conservation needs, taking into account the social and economic values of these resources.
Today, with escalating crises, major research institutions such as the National Center for Research (NCR) and the Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC), in cooperation with regional universities like the University of Kordofan, have sought to align their research projects with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This shift toward “interdisciplinary research” aims not only to study nature but to find practical solutions that ensure the sustainable use of resources in semi-arid ecosystems and ensure a fair distribution of benefits among current and future generations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, specialized scientific research confirms that the preservation of biodiversity is a fundamental pillar and the backbone for achieving sustainable development goals. In order to protect biodiversity in post-war Sudan, it is imperative for researchers, academics, stakeholders, and decision-makers to join forces to develop a clear roadmap. This starts with a detailed and comprehensive assessment of the war’s impact and recommends time-bound activities to restore vegetation cover and encourage local communities—especially the youth and women sectors—to participate actively in these environmental activities. Spreading environmental education, intensifying training, and raising awareness of the value and importance of biodiversity, alongside strengthening strict legislation and policies, are all key factors in ensuring the success of any future efforts for conservation and the restoration of the lost natural balance in this ancient country.
Sudan’s Environmental Crisis: The Consequences of War on Biodiversity
